A fiercely contested Tyne-Wear derby was never likely to produce a particularly strategic contest. This was more a midfield scrap, with a red card almost inevitable. In the end Sunderland's performance was an example of how not to play against 10 men, and they were fortunate to escape with a point.

Cheik Tioté's dismissal actually made the tactical battle more interesting. Both sides had started with a similar 4-4-1-1 system, with Demba Ba and Stéphane Sessègnon playing behind Shola Ameobi and Steven Fletcher respectively. There was little time in midfield for anyone to put their foot on the ball and dictate play, while none of the four wide players contributed enough in the final third.

Newcastle were already 1-0 up when they were reduced to 10 men, and from then Sunderland dominated possession. Alan Pardew was initially reluctant to make a defensive change, instructing Ba to drop deeper, but this left Yohan Cabaye isolated ahead of the defence, and eventually the United manager removed Ameobi and introduced James Perch as a defensive midfielder. Ba became the lone striker at the head of a 4-4-1, but the game was now about how Sunderland could break down Newcastle's two banks of four.

Frankly, they struggled. With an extra man, the obvious approach is to stretch the play, knock the ball from flank to flank and force the opposition to cover a lot of ground. This should have come naturally to the home side – O'Neill's teams always attack readily down the wings, and Fletcher is a poacher who thrives on deliveries from wide areas. Yet Sunderland failed to register a shot on target during their period of numerical supremacy – the Newcastle keeper Tim Krul was only tested by an early Sebastian Larsson free-kick, and was eventually beaten by an own goal.

On the right, Adam Johnson was particularly underwhelming, as Newcastle were well suited to his style. The former Manchester City winger always looked to cut inside on to his left side, but Newcastle's right-footed left-back Davide Santon was happy to tackle with his stronger foot. Even so, the Italian knew Johnson was reluctant to motor towards the byline, so showed him down the line – and the disciplined, hard-working Jonas Gutierrez provided another obstacle when Johnson tried to dribble into the middle. Only two of his 12 attempted dribbles were successful – and, amazingly, he did not attempt a single cross from the right, a testament to Newcastle's excellent defending on that side. On the left, James McClean is more effective on the counter-attack than when attempting to break down packed defences, and is similarly one-footed. Johnson and McClean changed flanks shortly before half-time, but this had little impact on Sunderland's shape.

The wingers can legitimately complain about the lack of attacking thrust from full-back; Johnson and Craig Gardner had a couple of squabbles, with the former imploring the latter to move higher up the pitch and create overloads. Danny Rose was also conservative with his movement, with central midfielder Sebastian Larsson encouraging him to attack more willingly, and it was odd that Gardner and Rose, both completely at home in midfield, were so reluctant to overlap.

Newcastle's defensive resilience should not be underestimated – Fabricio Coloccini was superb and Sunderland's equaliser came only after he departed through injury, while his centre-back colleague Mike Williamson also had a fine game.

Yet even Pardew must have been surprised at how little Krul was forced into action – Sunderland did just not move the ball quickly enough in open play.